The European Court of Justice (ECJ) dismissed on September 26 an appeal brought by Catalan nationalists Carles Puigdemont and Toni Comín against the European Parliament over its failure to initially recognise them as MEPs or grant them immunity.
Judges agreed with the General Court of the EU, a lower court, that the European Parliament’s then-president Antonio Tajani acted correctly when he initially refused to recognise the status of both representatives.
The Spanish Central Electoral Board (JEC) had excluded both pro-independence politicians from the list of MEPs it sent to the European Parliament, saying the two men had not gone to Madrid to declare their allegiance to Spain’s Constitution.
The act was required under Spanish law, for their elections to be certified and transmitted to the European Parliament.
The president of the European Parliament did not have the power to question the accuracy of lists of MEPs sent by the national authorities, said the court.
Giving that power to the European Parliament’s president would jeopardise the division of competencies between the European Union and the Member States, the court added.
The ruling has little consequence for Puigdemont, who was able to successfully take his seat in the EP in January 2020.
While Comín was also able to take his seat at this time, his decision to run for reelection in 2024 has now left him in the lurch, with the court decision now threatening to see him excluded from the parliament for an indefinite period despite receiving a public mandate.
Repeating the scenario from 2019, the JEC did not include Comín’s name on the official list of Spanish MEPs.
The European Parliament, now chaired by Roberta Metsola, had said it would wait for this ruling before deciding on Comín’s future.
Three Catalonian police officers have been suspended for allegedly aiding the dramatic escape of Carles Puigdemont, the fugitive former Catalan president. https://t.co/rXC4C74fM1
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) August 27, 2024
